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Butch Walts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Butch Walts
Full nameKenneth B. Walts
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceScottsdale, Arizona, US
Born (1955-06-04) June 4, 1955 (age 69)
Modesto, California, US
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Turned pro1975
Retired1984
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$454,343
Singles
Career record137–134
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 30 (April 16, 1979)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open1R (1979)
Wimbledon2R (1977)
US OpenQF (1978)
Doubles
Career record172–146
Career titles15
Highest rankingNo. 23 (June 18, 1984)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open1R (1984)
Wimbledon2R (1977)
US OpenQF (1980)

Butch Walts (born June 4, 1955)[1] is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

During his career, Walts won 4 singles titles and 15 doubles titles. He reached the quarter finals of the 1978 US Open, beating defending champion Guillermo Vilas before losing to John McEnroe. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 32 in 1979 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 23 in 1984. In 1981 Walts overcame testicular cancer and had surgery and chemotherapy.[2]

Career finals

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Singles (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

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Result W-L Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 1976 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard United States Cliff Richey 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 2–0 1977 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Brian Gottfried 4–6, 6–3, 7–5
Win 3–0 1979 Dayton, U.S. Carpet United States Marty Riessen 6–3, 6–4
Win 4–0 1979 Bologna, Italy Carpet Italy Gianni Ocleppo 6–3, 6–2
Loss 4–1 1983 Ferrara, Italy Carpet Sweden Thomas Högstedt 4–6, 4–6

Doubles (15 titles, 8 runner-ups)

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Result W-L Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 1976 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson United States Vitas Gerulaitis
United States Clark Graebner
2–6, 4–6
Win 1–1 1976 Hong Kong Hard United States Hank Pfister India Anand Amritraj
Romania Ilie Năstase
6–4, 6–2
Win 2–1 1977 Dayton, U.S. Carpet United States Hank Pfister United States Jeff Borowiak
Rhodesia Andrew Pattison
6–4, 7–6
Loss 2–2 1978 Dayton, U.S. Carpet United States Hank Pfister United States Brian Gottfried
Australia Geoff Masters
3–6, 4–6
Win 3–2 1978 Atlanta, U.S. Hard Australia John Alexander United States Mike Cahill
Mexico Marcello Lara
3–6, 6–4, 7–6
Win 4–2 1978 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet United States Sherwood Stewart Australia Mark Edmondson
Australia John Marks
6–2, 6–7, 7–6
Loss 4–3 1980 Frankfurt, West Germany Carpet Zimbabwe Andrew Pattison India Vijay Amritraj
United States Stan Smith
7–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss 4–4 1980 Milan, Italy Carpet Zimbabwe Andrew Pattison United States Peter Fleming
United States John McEnroe
2–6, 7–6, 2–6
Win 5–4 1980 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Brian Teacher India Anand Amritraj
United States John Austin
6–2, 6–4
Loss 5–5 1980 Surbiton, U.K. Grass Zimbabwe Andrew Pattison Australia Mark Edmondson
Australia Kim Warwick
6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 13–15
Win 6–5 1980 Newport, U.S. Grass Zimbabwe Andrew Pattison United States Fritz Buehning
United States Peter Rennert
7–6, 6–4
Win 7–5 1980 Atlanta, U.S. Hard United States Tom Gullikson India Anand Amritraj
United States John Austin
6–7, 7–6, 7–5
Win 8–5 1980 Bologna, Italy Carpet Hungary Balázs Taróczy United States Steve Denton
Australia Paul McNamee
2–6, 6–3, 6–0
Win 9–5 1981 Denver, U.S. Carpet Zimbabwe Andrew Pattison United States Mel Purcell
United States Dick Stockton
6–3, 6–4
Win 10–5 1981 Tampa, U.S. Hard South Africa Bernard Mitton Australia David Carter
Australia Paul Kronk
6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Win 11–5 1981 Frankfurt, West Germany Carpet United States Brian Teacher United States Vitas Gerulaitis
United States John McEnroe
7–5, 6–7, 7–5
Win 12–5 1981 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Tom Gullikson United States John McEnroe
United States Ferdi Taygan
6–4, 6–4
Win 13–5 1983 Ferrara, Italy Carpet South Africa Bernard Mitton Czechoslovakia Stanislav Birner
Sweden Stefan Simonsson
7–6, 0–6, 6–3
Loss 13–6 1983 Toulouse, France Hard (i) South Africa Bernard Mitton Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
7–5, 5–7, 4–6
Win 14–6 1984 La Quinta, U.S. Hard South Africa Bernard Mitton United States Scott Davis
United States Ferdi Taygan
5–7, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 14–7 1984 Florence, Italy Clay South Africa Bernard Mitton United States Mark Dickson
United States Chip Hooper
6–7, 6–4, 5–7
Loss 14–8 1984 London/Queen's Club, U.K. Grass South Africa Bernard Mitton Australia Pat Cash
Australia Paul McNamee
4–6, 3–6
Win 15–8 1984 Honolulu, U.S. Hard United States Gary Donnelly United States Mark Dickson
United States Mike Leach
7–6, 6–4

References

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  1. ^ Images, Historic. "1975 Press Photo BUTCH WALTS TENNIS PLAYER GOLD MEDAL DEFEAT GONZALEZ". Historic Images. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Walts advances". The New York Times. February 2, 1983. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
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